The West Marches
by Carry2Sky
Summary: The Kingdom of Loriene is a stagnant realm. No expansion, safe borders, sounds like an easy and simple life in its walls. But not everyone likes a comfortable living. Adventurers travel to the Ellen plane, to Viriskali, on the frontier fraught with danger and loot for the hope of something more. These are their stories.


**The Kingdom of Loriene is a stagnant realm. No expansion, safe borders, sounds like an easy life. But not everyone likes a comfortable living. Adventurers travel to the Ellen plane, to Viriskali, on the frontier fraught with danger and loot. These are their stories.**

 **Week 1 Part 1**

 **Ecila**

Ecila sighed as he resisted the urge to rub the bridge of his nose.

He wouldn't lower himself to do something so _plebian_ , but still, the urge was there. When he came out westward, he expected danger, loot and sweet, _sweet_ independence. Yet as he had moved across the rolling farm lands and lonely trails, he had begun to realise he was already out of his depth. He thought he could be the dashing hero himself and carve out his own fortune from the lands and monsters.

However this proved to be an incorrect assumption.

Everywhere he went he had asked about adventurers and their escapades in order to better himself. However a common theme kept appearing; _strength in numbers_. And that's what led him here. Into this _bar_. Ran by an oaf of a man by the name of Frelka, it was _apparently_ the only watering hole in Viriskali and also _apparently_ the place to meet adventurers and sellswords. So here he was, sipping subpar mead in a subpar tavern in an overly subpar town surrounded by subpar people. Great. He took a glance at the table, and the people he was surrounded by.

First person his eyes saw was his fellow kinsman, S'ilid Albresh. Clad in finely polished chain mail and with a rather large battered greatsword strapped to his back, S'ilid cut quite an intimidating figure. However, despite being of elven blood, Ecila could tell he was about as native as an elf could get. The scars that marred his face and hands were very telling, as was the smell.

Not that the human sat to his left was any better. Kellan Wildlight was just as his name implied. Long haired, bearded and in ratty clothes and leather armour. Free spirited, but so god awfully poor it wasn't even funny. His etiquette also wasn't anywhere near civil, the man was so awkward Ecila had a hard time believing _he_ wasn't the bard and was merely acting.

No, the bard was... Bardric Bardison. Incredulity was his first impression when he had met the halfling in the bar. She was... something. She had quite an odd vernacular as well as a crude sense of humor. Apparently she came from a long line of bards, something that he could respect, but she didn't carry any instrument or lore book. He could only assume she was a singer, and he idly wondered what kind of songs a creature such as this had in her repertoire.

As of currently the four of them agreed to meet of in the tavern and discuss business, with both Kellan and S'ilid heralding interesting stories.

"So you're saying that a monstrous sized bear _broke_ into someone's house, ate them, ramshackled the rest of the town, and just up and left?" Ecila questioned with a slight hesitance. While it was believable that there was a creature that would do so, wasn't it the guard's issue? Were these people really so poor?

"Yes," S'ilid said, settling back in his chair. "Apparently something like this has only happened once before."

"Well, this obviously isn't a natural occurrence for a bear. There might be more to this that is yet to be discovered." Kellen murmured thoughtfully, leaning forward and setting his elbows on the circular wooden table. Ecila pushed his pewter and lead tankard (have these people no class?) away from himself distastefully, disgusted with the so called 'beverage'. He wouldn't feed this swill to a pig.

"So, you wish to go for the bear then?" he proposed evenly. "Is that what you want do?" Ecila asked, highly doubtful of Kellen's skills. He himself had gone hunting a many times, though always for sport and a hunting hawk at his beck and call. He received a small shrug in return.

Plebeian.

"My skills seem to suit the situation." he countered, although he looked very unsure of the situation.

"Tell me, when was the last time you tracked beast such as this?" Elica was doing his best to hold back a sneer. It wouldn't do when he was trying to make "friends".

"I grew up tracking beasts-"

"Is that a euphemism?" Bardric interjected, giggling. "That who you date?"

"I-I uh, I don't understand the joke." Kellen responded with great hesitance after a lengthy pause. He kept glancing between the newly formed party, unsure of how to react. Poor man.

"Yeah...shouldn't you be playing a song or some such Bardric?" Elica asked, already tiring of present company.

"Naaah, I'm off duty." she said with unmatched cheer. There was a broad smile that appeared on her tanned face before taking a gulp from her tankard. "I wanna go kill something." Gods below, was Ecila really surrounded by such barbarians?

"That's, um, great. Anyways, we should go track that bear, its very accommodating to your _skill set._ " There was that urge to sneer again as he nodded towards Kellen. "Then S'ilid and I may kill it."

"Well- if we could, uh, not actually kill the bear, and maybe find out why it's in a rage?" Kellen proposed meekly.

"Sure, absolutely. I'm with you." He responded, with all the patronization he could get away with. S'ilid kept flickering his eyes back and forth between the two impassively, as though watching a joust. Elica threw a subtle wink over to the elf, to receive a nod in return.

"Uh..." Kellen looked uncertainly at the two. Was he really so estranged from society that he couldn't understand such simple gestures? It was almost sad.

Almost.

"We're just agreeing on the course of action." Ecila lied simply, putting on a grand smile.

"Oh, uhh, of course, sorry. Um, should we go get the bear?" then Kellen winked with a painful emphasis. Okay, now it was sad, if not embarrassing. Elica just winked back. S'ilid however just shook his head, apparently exasperated.

"Again, is that a euphemism?" a giggle erupted to his right once more. This time Ecila did rub the bridge of his nose.

"Anyone know where we're going?" he questioned, eyes shut.

"Castow."


End file.
